Yesterday Janelle went to Richmond for the Annual Homeschool Convention. She had a delightful time gleaning valuable and/or fun information from the likes of Joel Salatin, Michael Farris, and Dianne Craft.

I spent the day with boys, and kept the camera handy...

0630 Balloon time while the older boys still sleep

The son's headcheck"Just checking to make sure you are still there"

Next one awakes...slowwwly, but not without donning a pirate outfit...thenslumps into Nathanael's chair and listens to "Music Together" on Pandora.

Everyone is dressed...Thad's knows his role for the day..."Dad's helper"

Tree climbing while we wait for Nathanael to awake from his nap so we can go mini-golfing

Thursday, June 06, 2013

The guest cottage stripped of its paint. House is nearly complete now too. Painting may start as early as next week. Been promised the job will be done before we move on/around June 28th. Keep praying that is the case. The weather has to cooperate as well. Tropical Storm Andrea is threatening us at the moment.

The door side was done with an infrared heater device called the Speedheater...the remainder of the project has been completed with a handheld planer of sorts called a paintshaver. Not an easy task no matter how you do it. The hard labor workers don't like me much...the end result is a long lasting paint job with Allback Organic Linseed Oil paint with 50 year life span.

The final side of the house and dormers to complete the stripping of old paint

This topic is a passion of Janelle's and mine, that we've discussed making a part of our "local impact" whenever/wherever we settle. Now that we are leaving the military it is exciting to again dream about our involvement in local communities we may soon become members of.

"A revolutionary approach to food education

A revolutionary approach to food education

Children learn best through doing, through positive examples, through trial and error. We need to capture their interest, curiosity and energy as well as their appetites!

As participants in Garden to Table, students discover the pleasures of hands-on food education, through regular classes in a productive vegetable garden and a home-style kitchen classroom.

Students learn to build and maintain a garden according to organic principles, and to grow and harvest a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs. An abundant vegetable garden is created within the school grounds to provide edible, aromatic and beautiful resources for the school kitchen. The creation and care of the garden teaches students about the natural world, its wonders and beauty and how to cultivate and care for it.

In the kitchen, students prepare a range of delicious dishes from the seasonal produce they’ve grown. The finished meal is arranged with pride and care on tables set with flowers from the garden. The shared meal is a time for students, specialists, teachers and volunteers to enjoy the fruits of their labour, and each other’s company and conversation.

An innovative staffing model is crucial to Garden to Table’s success. In both the garden and the kitchen, students work in small groups under the supervision of specialist staff, community volunteers and the classroom teacher. This provides a unique opportunity to learn in an interactive way from adults who are passionate experts in their field.

The Program is embedded into the curriculum and is a compulsory part of school life from Years 3 to 6 (NB: not all schools involve all 4 year groups at the start). The specialists work closely with a Program Coordinator from the teaching staff, planning activities and menus that are integrated into the curriculum. Planning flows from the garden’s seasonal growing cycles, which students experience over a four-year period.

The garden and kitchen provide a real-life context for learning, which interweaves the theories and practices behind growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh, seasonal foods.